Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire is in Warwickshire.
See: Church of the Virgin Mary, Stoneleigh [Map], Confluence of the River Sowe and River Avon [Map].
Around 1509 Thomas Leigh was born to Roger Leigh (age 26) at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map].
Around 1536 Rowland Leigh of Longbarrow was born to Thomas Leigh (age 27) at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. He married in or before 1585 Catherine Berkeley and had issue.
Around 1542 Thomas Leigh 1st Baronet was born to Thomas Leigh (age 33) at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. He married in or before 1573 Katharine Spencer and had issue.
Around 1551 William Leigh was born to Thomas Leigh (age 42) in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. He married before 1579 Frances Harrington and had issue.
In 1555 Roger Leigh (age 72) died at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map].
In 1573 Catherine Leigh was born to Thomas Leigh 1st Baronet (age 31) and Katharine Spencer at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. She married 1593 her third cousin Robert Catesby and had issue.
Around 1575 John Leigh was born to Thomas Leigh 1st Baronet (age 33) and Katharine Spencer at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. He married in or before 1595 Ursula Hoddeston and had issue.
In 1578 Alice Leigh 1st Duchess Dudley was born to Thomas Leigh 1st Baronet (age 36) and Katharine Spencer at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. She married December 1596 Robert Dudley, son of Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester and Douglas Howard Baroness Sheffield, and had issue.
In February 1626 Thomas Leigh 1st Baronet (age 84) died at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. His grandson Thomas (age 31) succeeded 2nd Baronet Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire.
On 12th November 1710 Thomas Leigh 2nd Baron Leigh (age 58) died. He was buried at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. His son Edward (age 26) succeeded 3rd Baron Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire, 4th Baronet Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire. Mary Holbech Baroness Leigh by marriage Baroness Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire.
On 4th June 1786 Edward Leigh 5th Baron Leigh (age 44) died. He was buried at Church of the Virgin Mary, Stoneleigh [Map]. Baron Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire, Baronet Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire extinct. The estates of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map] were inherited by his sister Mary Leigh.
In 1806 Mary Leigh died without issue. Her half sixth-cousin once-removed James Henry Leigh of Adlestrop (age 40) inherited the estates of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map].
In 1828 Mary Leigh was born to Chandos Leigh 1st Baron Leigh (age 36) at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. She married 4th May 1848 her fifth cousin once removed Henry Pitt Cholmondeley, son of Thomas Cholmondeley 1st Baron Delamere and Henrietta Elizabeth Williams-Wynn Baroness Delamere, and had issue.
On 4th May 1848 Henry Pitt Cholmondeley (age 27) and Mary Leigh (age 20) were married at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map]. They were fifth cousin once removed.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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The River Sowe rises at Bedworth, Warwickshire [Map] from where it flows through Neal's Green, Warwickshire [Map], Longford Park, Coventry [Map], Stoke Aldermoor, Coventry [Map], past Lunt Roman Fort [Map] to Stoneleigh, Warwickshire [Map] after which it joins the Warwickshire River Avon.
The Warwickshire River Avon rises from a spring at Naseby, Northamptonshire [Map] after which it passes Welford, Northamptonshire [Map], Stanford-on-Avon, Northamptonshire [Map], Catthorpe, Leicestershire [Map], Dow Bridge [Map], Rugby, Warwickshire [Map].
After Ruby it passes King's Newnham, Warwickshire [Map], Bretford, Warwickshire [Map], Brandon, Warwickshire [Map], Bubbenhall, Warwickshire [Map] before reaching Stoneleigh [Map] where it is joined by the River Sowe.
After Stoneleigh, Ashow, Warwickshire [Map], Warwick, Warwickshire [Map], Barford, Warwickshire [Map], Hampton Lucy, Warwickshire [Map], Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire [Map], Welford-on-Avon, Warwickshire [Map], Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire [Map], Evesham, Worcestershire [Map], Fladbury, Worcestershire [Map], Pershore, Worcestershire [Map], Eckington, Worcestershire [Map], Twyning Green, Gloucestershire [Map] before joining the River Severn at Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire [Map].